Artist Spends a Year Drawing Fantasy Weapons, Warned About Character Self-Harm

KEY POINTS

•Ana Fedina spent more than a year illustrating about 120 pieces for Critical Role's 'The Armory of Heroes' in 2024.
•She initially pursued graphic design before discovering game illustration was a real career path during college.
•Fedina emphasizes that her soft skills and portfolio diversity helped her land the gig after being a fan first.

Ana Fedina, a formerly clueless college graphic design hopeful, somehow stumbled into crafting 120 intricate pieces of deadly gear and heroes for Critical Role's 216-page ’The Armory of Heroes’ in 2024. Starting from endless Tumblr lurking and tough breaks, she finally caught a break years later via Critical Role’s book editor. Over a painstaking year, Fedina juggled character armor tweaks, weapon practicality (ouch, characters sticking themselves), and multi-rounds of feedback from Critical Role's co-founders. Along the way, she confessed that soft skills and networking mattered just as much as making sick illustrations of fantasy clerics and flashy wizard props. Apparently, doodling firearms to avoid fantasy accidents was the new black.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Turns out drawing make-believe swords requires a safety briefing because those fantasy heroes can’t handle their own gear. Remember kids: imaginary self-harm is totally a design problem.

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